Newsademic British English edition 260

15th October 2015 
N e w s a d e m ic .co m ™
 - British English edition 
page 
3
W
o r ld
 
O
ctopus
 
D
a y
World Octopus Day was on 8th 
October. It is the first o f a series of 
dates known as Cephalopod Aware­
ness Days. These dates are between 
8th and 12th October. Cephalopods 
have many arms, or tentacles, and 
live in the sea. Cephalopod Aware­
ness Days are an opportunity to cel­
ebrate and learn more about these 
special sea creatures.
There are more than 800 cephalo- 
pod species. They include octopus­
es, squid, cuttlefish, and nautiluses. 
Cephalopod is a combination o f two 
Ancient Greek words, which mean 
‘head-foot’. Fishermen often call 
them inkfish. If threatened, cepha- 
lopods expel or squirt out a dark 
liquid. It looks like ink and confuses 
their attackers. Cephalopods live 
in all the world’s oceans. They are 
found only in salt water. Some live 
near the surface. Others prefer the 
seabed or deeper parts of the ocean.
Nautilus Night, which is on 9th 
October, follows World Octopus 
Day. Squid and Cuttlefish Day is 
next. Myths and Legends Day is on 
11th October. Mythical creatures 
like the kraken are large sea mon­
sters with cephalopod-like tentacles. 
The final event on 12th October is 
called Fossil Day. This is for ex­
tinct cephalopods. Perhaps the most
famous are ammonites. These sea 
creatures once lived in most of the 
world’s oceans. They had spiral 
shaped shells and existed for 340 
million years. Ammonites disap­
peared at the same time as the dino­
saurs, or 66 million years ago. Their 
fossils are frequently found.
All cephalopods are inverte­
brates. This means they do not have 
a backbone. Cephalopods are related 
to molluscs such as slugs, snails and 
clams. These molluscs have only one 
foot. Cephalopods have evolved, or 
developed, to have multiple arms, or 
tentacles. They also have extremely 
good eyesight. Molluscs have little 
intelligence. Yet cephalopods are 
thought to be the cleverest inverte­
brates in the world. Some are known 
to make use o f tools.
Octopuses have two eyes, three 
beating hearts, four pairs of tenta­
cles, and a beak. Suckers cover the 
underside o f their tentacles. They 
are very fast swimmers. The name 
octopus means ‘eight-foot’ in An­
cient Greek. The creature’s mouth 
is at the centre o f its arms. As they 
don’t have a skeleton, octopuses 
can squeeze themselves into very 
small spaces.
Australian blue-ringed octopus
Octopuses do not live for very 
long. Those that live longest do so for 
about five years. Males usually die 
after mating. Females die after laying 
their eggs or when their eggs hatch. 
Some octopuses change colour to 
hide from predators. The mimic
octopus can make itself look like a 
lionfish. This is a dangerous sea crea­
ture. Many people from Asian and 
Mediterranean countries eat octopus.
The world’s largest octopus is the 
giant Pacific octopus. It can weigh 
15 kilograms (33 pounds). The dis­
tance from the end of one tentacle 
to the opposite one (or the octopus’ 
arm span) can be 4.3 metres (14 
feet). However, this octopus does 
not harm humans. The Australian 
blue-ringed octopus is far smaller. 
Yet its bite can be deadly. The blue 
rings that cover this octopus’ body 
appear only when it is threatened 
and about to attack.
The largest cephalopod is the 
colossal squid. These rare creatures 
live deep in the oceans. Some caught 
in fishing nets have been 14 metres 
(46 feet) long. Octopuses have lived 
on the Earth for over 300 million 
years. They therefore existed before 
the dinosaurs. The mythical creature 
known as the kraken is often depict­
ed as a gigantic octopus or squid. It 
is supposed to live in the ocean be­
tween Norway and Greenland.
The 8th October was chosen for 
World Octopus Day because Octo­
ber also starts with ‘octo’. It there­
fore matches the word octopus. Of 
all the numbers, the figure eight 
looks most like an octopus. □
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